Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Just what is glycerin soap????

It has always bugged me when I've been at a craft show or in a soap shop and the salesperson has said, "Our soaps are all natural glycerin soaps." Or, "Our soaps are better because they're glycerin soaps." I can't quite say, "You don't know what you're talking about." They're basically right...but the term glycerin soap is really a misnomer. All real soap is glycerin soap. I repeat, all real soap (not made with synthetic detergents) is essentially glycerin soap. Glycerin is a byproduct of the soap making process. Oils + lye (with some water) = soap + glycerin What many people call glycerin soap is actually transparent soap. Transparent soap is real soap too...it just goes through a hot process where sugar and/or alcohol are added as "solvents" to keep the soap crystals from becoming opaque. Without this crystallization, the soap remains clear. You could take just about any of your soap recipes and adjust the process to make them transparent. (Naturally, some recipes will work better than others...but that's basically the case.) The picture is of my honey soap which is a clear soap.The honey glycerin soap is a wonderful soap that really makes your skin soft.

1 comment:

haha i feel for ya girl! i get "slap on the head" moments with computers a lot. because i know them through and through. people that really want to sell something and really BE that should definitely know all their ins and outs.